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Archdiocese of Tuam.Pdf Private and Confidential Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Archdiocese of Tuam undertaken by The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) The content of this Report is not to be accessed or shared without the consent of the Archbishop of Tuam June 2011 Review of Safeguarding Practice – Archdiocese of Tuam CONTENTS Background Page 3 Standard 1 A written policy on keeping children safe Page 6 Standard 2 Management of allegations Page 8 Standard 3 Preventing Harm to Children Page 12 Standard 4 Training and Education Page 14 Standard 5 Communicating the Church’s Safeguarding Message Page 15 Standard 6 Access to Advice and Support Page 16 Standard 7 Implementing and Monitoring Standards Page 17 Recommendations Page 18 Terms of Reference Page 19 Page 2 of 21 Review of Safeguarding Practice – Archdiocese of Tuam Background The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC) was asked by the Sponsoring Bodies, namely the Episcopal Conference, the Conference of Religious of Ireland and the Irish Missionary Union, to undertake a comprehensive review of safeguarding practice within and across all the Church authorities on the island of Ireland. The purpose of the review is to confirm that current safeguarding practice complies with the Standards set down within the guidance issued by the Sponsoring Bodies in February 2009, and that all known allegations and concerns had been appropriately dealt with. To achieve this task, safeguarding practice in each Church authority is to be reviewed through an examination of case records and through interviews with key personnel involved both within and external to the archdiocese or other authority. This report contains the findings of the Review of Safeguarding Practice within the Archdiocese of Tuam undertaken by the NBSCCC in line with the request made to it by the Sponsoring Bodies. It is based upon the case material made available to us by the archdiocese along with interviews with selected key personnel who contribute to safeguarding within the archdiocese. The NBSCCC believes that all relevant documentation for these cases was passed to the Reviewers, and the archdiocese has confirmed this. The findings of the review have been shared with a reference group in redacted form before being submitted to the archdiocese, along with any recommendations arising from the findings. For Clarification – The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, NBSCCC, National Board, National Office - all these terms are synonymous with each other and refer to the same entity. Also the term Designated Person is interchangeable with that of Designated Officer or Delegate. A precise definition of the content of the role may be found on Page 55 of Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance document. Page 3 of 21 Review of Safeguarding Practice – Archdiocese of Tuam Introduction At the request of Archbishop Michael Neary, staff from the NBSCCC engaged in a process of reviewing safeguarding children policy and practice on June 7th, 2011. The fieldwork took place over a three-day period when case files were scrutinised, and interviews with key personnel in the archdiocesan safeguarding structure took place. The fieldwork team would wish to acknowledge the enthusiasm and commitment of Archbishop Neary, his Designated Persons, his Training Manager, and all other team members, both clerical and lay, involved in the safeguarding of children in the Archdiocese of Tuam, and for their expressed support of the review process. Exposing a diocese to scrutiny by the National Board can be a daunting challenge for the safeguarding personnel, however the attitude adopted by the archbishop and all his staff was one of complete openness and willingness to recognise and learn from any mistakes made, so as to ensure better and safer practice in the future. It also provided an opportunity for the reviewers to comment favourably on the many examples of good practice that they found, particularly since the installation of the present archbishop in 1995. It should be stated that the commitment to safeguarding children that is evident in the archdiocese today appears not to have existed in previous years. Many of the cases that were managed by the Archbishop’s predecessors contain practice that is defensive and internally focused, which would be entirely unacceptable today. These cases showed a lack of awareness of the suffering caused to victims by abusers. It is very much to the credit of those currently involved in safeguarding in the archdiocese that no trace of this practice remains today. The purpose of the review is set out within the Terms of Reference that are appended to this report. It seeks to examine how practice conforms to expected standards in the Church, both at the time an allegation was received and currently. It is an expectation of the National Board that key findings from the review will be shared widely so that public awareness of what is in place and what is planned may be increased, as well as confidence that the Church is taking appropriate steps to safeguard children. The review was initiated through the signing of a data protection deed, allowing full access, by staff from NBSCCC, to all case management and Archdiocesan records. This access does not constitute disclosure as the reviewers through the deed were deemed to be nominated data processors of the material for the archbishop. The process involved the fieldwork team reading all case management records of living priests incardinated into the diocese against whom a child safeguarding allegation had been made or a concern raised. In addition, interviews were held with Archbishop Neary, two Designated Persons, Training Manager and Safeguarding Co- ordinator; Archbishop’s Secretary; the Chairperson and two other members of the Safeguarding Committee; Support Person for Victims; two Parish Safeguarding Representatives and the Advisory Panel. In addition, we had the opportunity to meet the former secretary to the archbishop who had played a key role in the management of allegations prior to his taking up a new post in the archdiocese. The final part of the review was an assessment of the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Policy and Procedures against the Standards set down in Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance. Page 4 of 21 Review of Safeguarding Practice – Archdiocese of Tuam The focus of reviews into safeguarding has concentrated on the management of allegations. NBSCCC accepts that the huge emphasis placed on this aspect of safeguarding is critical. In addition, NBSCCC recognises that in order to prevent abuse happening in future, the investment in creating safe environments for children must be great and open to scrutiny. It is for this reason that the review process uses the seven Standards outlined within Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance document as an assessment framework. The report below, therefore, highlights the findings by the fieldworkers under each standard and draws conclusions regarding the effectiveness of policies and practices in the archdiocese to prevent abuse, as well as the ability of the relevant personnel within the archdiocese to assess and manage risk to children. Where appropriate, recommendations for improvements are made. Page 5 of 21 Review of Safeguarding Practice – Archdiocese of Tuam STANDARDS This section provides the findings of the review. The template employed to present the findings are the seven standards, set down and described in the Church guidance, Safeguarding Children: Standards and Guidance. This guidance was launched in February 2009 and was endorsed and adopted by all the Church authorities who minister on the island of Ireland, including the Archdiocese of Tuam. Standard 1 A written policy on keeping children safe Each child should be cherished and affirmed as a gift from God with an inherent right to dignity of life and bodily integrity, which shall be respected, nurtured and protected by all. Policy & Procedures In February 2010, Tuam Archdiocese produced an updated policy statement in relation to its commitment to ensuring the paramouncy of the welfare of the child in all its work. To support that explicit commitment, the archdiocese produced a reader friendly document outlining its procedures. Included within these procedures are: a Diocesan Code of Conduct for adults, procedures for the recruitment of staff and volunteers; procedures for making a complaint and how to report child protection concerns. It is evident from the case management records, since the installation of Archbishop Neary in 1995, that all allegations of child abuse have been passed to An Garda Síochána. In the past it was understood by the archdiocese that a protocol existed between An Gardaí and the Health Board, which meant that in referring matters to the Gardaí, they would be passed on to the local social worker. This protocol between the Gardaí and the HSE was never implemented. As a consequence, a number of backdated referrals have been made to the HSE Child Care Manager. Currently and for the past number of years, all allegations and concerns are passed promptly to both An Garda Síochána and HSE. Tuam Archdiocese uses a standard HSE referral form to share allegations and concerns with the civil authorities. The archdiocesan Policy and Procedure document, along with leaflets and a poster advising how to report a concern, has been circulated to all parishes. It is the role of the Parish Safeguarding Representatives to ensure that the poster is on display in their parish church and that the procedures are available. Feedback from the two safeguarding representatives interviewed indicates support throughout the archdiocese for adherence to the procedures. The representatives stated that significant attitudinal change has taken place amongst the clergy and volunteers, which recognises the rights of children to a safe environment within all parishes across Tuam. In order to assess compliance with the archdiocesan policy and procedures, the Safeguarding Committee plan to carry out an audit on a two yearly basis, and review the need for corrective action.
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